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This Land Is NOT Your Land, This Land Is MY Land

    

The Almighty Dollar wins again.

A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development in a decision anxiously awaited in communities where economic growth often is at war with individual property rights.
...
As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue.
... O'Connor, who has often been a key swing vote at the court, issued a stinging dissent, arguing that cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers.

"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," she wrote. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."

Like your house, your property? It doesn't matter, you no longer have any control over it if someone richer than you desires it for their business purposes.

» Supreme Court Rules Cities May Seize Homes

Excerpt made on Thursday June 23, 2005 at 11:39 AM



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